The Sands of Time
by xandromedax
Summary: A time turner smashes, throwing the Potter & Weasley children from 2022 into a time long gone, and they have no idea how to get back. What will happen when they meet the people of 1976, including a past Voldemort? Will their parents be able to follow?
1. Where are we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

"Score!"

"Hugo, you're not guarding the goal!"

"Ow! That was my elbow, Fred!"

The shouts and cries of the teenagers echoed in the makeshift Quidditch field behind a large white house. If the neighbors who lived around the Potters had happened to see the source of the noise, they would have been inexpressibly shocked to see eight teenagers, most with red hair, zooming around on broomsticks and tossing a ball at each other. Fortunately, there were shields around the house to prevent an outsider from seeing, or hearing, anyone who was in the immediate vicinity of the house. It was meant to deter the reporters who were constantly descending on the house, but the children often took advantage of it to play Quidditch in secret. Suddenly, one of the redheads saw a speck of gold glimmering next to the ground and took a sudden dive, with another redhead hot on her heels. The teams immediately stopped bickering among themselves and turned on their brooms to watch as Lily Potter and Rose Weasley pelted toward the ground.

"Go Lily!"

"No, go Rose!"

"Lily, just grab it!"

"Shut up! You're distracting Rose!"

One of the teams erupted in cheers when Lily was the first to pull out of her dive, the Snitch clamped in her hand with Rose grumpily rising behind her.

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Roxanne said, annoyed, as the other team began a victory celebration in midair. "I'm going inside to get some butterbeer, want to come?" she added to the rest of her scowling teammates. They nodded, and followed her, each tossing their broomstick on the grass as they headed inside to the cool house. Ginny and Harry were out for the day with Ron and Hermione, trusting the large group of cousins to stay safe in the house.

"Bloody hell, its _hot_," grumbled Rose as she threw herself down on a sofa and pushed her damp red curls away from her face.

"Are you sure that's not because-" James Potter began, raising his eyebrows teasingly as he came into the house, along with Al and Fred.

"Do you really want to finish that sentence?" Rose said, pointing her wand at him. Fred laughed as James cowered and backed away, having been on the receiving end of Rose's hexes far too many times.

"Where's Lily?" Dominique asked suddenly, as she finished her bottle of butterbeer. She was the oldest of the group at the moment, and felt that it was her responsibility to watch the younger ones. "Still outside?"

"Nah, she said she wants to check out something she found," Al answered her as the rest of the group grabbed bottles of butterbeer and lounged around the living room, chatting. Dominique nodded, and the next second forgot about Lily as she began heatedly arguing with Hugo about whether the Cannons were going to win their next game.

"Hey guys!" Lily called from another room. "Can you look at this?" No one heard her through the chatter except for Al, who put his butterbeer down and slipped out of the room. He found Lily in their father's study.

"Lily! You know you're not supposed to go in there-" he began, shocked.

"I know, but I found this,"-she held up a tiny gold object-"in the Snitch, and well, I thought it might have come from Dad's study. I mean, this Snitch _was_ Dad's once, after all."

"You-you found it in the Snitch? You mean you opened it?" Al was amazed. He had never heard of a Snitch opening before…

"No, I was holding the Snitch, and then I felt it open in my hand. I didn't tell anyone else, but when I looked to see what happened, I saw _this_ inside it." She gave the object to Al, who took it apprehensively. Who had ever heard of something being hidden in a Snitch? He held the object up to the light, and examined it. It was a tiny gold hourglass, filled with white sand. There were also strange markings on it, rather like runes.

"Runes, " he said aloud. "We should get Rose to look at this, she's the only one who's taken Ancient Runes."

"What?" Lily moved to stand beside him. "I didn't notice the runes, I was looking at the sand…" her voice trailed away as they both gazed at the sand, mesmerized. The sand seemed to shimmer, and become whiter even as they looked at it. Both no longer noticed the distant sounds of their cousins as the blindingly white sand entranced them, sparkling enticingly, swallowing them-

Al covered the hourglass with his hand, as he jolted to his senses. Beside him, Lily shook her head, trying to clear it.

"I don't know Lily, there's something weird about this," Al said, still keeping the hourglass covered. He took a deep breath, the vision of the entrancingly sinister sand dancing in his mind. "Something _wrong_. I don't know if we should deal with this, maybe we should wait until Mum and Dad get home."

"Well, first we can ask Rose to see if she can figure out the runes," Lily suggested, unwilling to set aside the hourglass. Al hesitated, but before he could say another word, Lily pried his fingers open and snatched the hourglass away.

"Lily wait!" he yelled, following her as she darted into the living room. He rushed into the room, looking around for his sister in the chaotic tumult. He knocked over Roxanne who was laughing at something Hugo said, and ran into Dominique, spilling her butterbeer all over the floor. Apologizing hastily, he picked himself up and scanned the room, fear bubbling up in him...he could almost feel it, something was wrong about that hourglass, something sinister…

He finally caught a glimpse of Lily's long red hair as she and Rose bent over a table in the center of the room. Rose held up the hourglass suddenly, and it caught the light streaming in the windows, causing it to sparkle, and drawing the attention of James, who had been standing nearby with Fred.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked curiously, looking at it.

"None of your business, James, bugger off," Lily answered, still talking quietly to Rose.

"Ouch, Lils, so rude. I really have no idea where you learned your manners," he grinned. "But if you won't tell-"

"-then we'll have to find out for ourselves," finished Fred, also grinning. James made a grab for it, but Rose held it above her head as Lily tried to push James away. But then Fred stuck out his foot and tripped Rose, and Al watched in horror as he saw, as though in slow motion, the hourglass flying through the air. James dove to catch it but missed, and the tiny glass hit the floor, and the room dissolved.

Al distantly heard the shattering of the glass, sounding like a million tiny bells, and the next thing he saw was blackness. He felt himself being pulled though the impenetrable darkness, and heard a babble of voices, snatches of conversations…and then colors were flying around him, mixing into a confusing jumble of images….

His feet hit the ground with a solid thud and his knees buckled from the impact. He could hear several more _thuds_ and groans all around him, as he doubled over gasping.

"Where are we?" Dominique's voice said from behind him.

"I think we're in a forest, look," Rose answered her. Al looked above his head, and saw that they were, indeed, in a forest. And it wasn't just any forest. The trees were massive, towering so far into the sky that he couldn't see the tops. The full moon illuminated the scene before them, casting a surreal light on the leaf-littered ground and the group of teenagers. It was eerily quiet, the silence only broken by the occasional hooting of an owl.

"Guys, let's get out of here," Roxanne said suddenly, shivering. Hugo nodded in agreement.

"And how do we get back home?" Lily said furiously. "We don't even know where we are! And its all the fault of these two!" She pointed at James and Fred, who looked surprised.

"Now come on Lils, we-"

"Quiet!" Rose hissed suddenly, fear etched on her face. "Listen!" There was drawn out howl nearby, from amongst the dark trees.

"Isn't that a-a wolf-?" Roxanne whispered, her eyes wide. Suddenly, leaves crunched on the ground a few feet away, and the form of an animal stepped out from the shadows. The moonlight fell on the animal, and the teenagers froze in terror.

It was a werewolf.

It seemed just as surprised by them as they were by it. But it was quickly getting over it; it bared its teeth and a fierce growl escaped its throat.

"Run!" Lily screamed, and all eight of them turned and began to run, tripping over roots and stumbling over rocks, getting scratched by branches, as they desperately tried to get away from the heavy pounding of the werewolf's paws as it pursued them though the forest. Al turned and looked behind him, and saw the werewolf barely a dozen feet behind, it's amber eyes fixed on him. He tripped on a root, and sprawled on the ground. He tried to get up, but couldn't; his ankle was twisted and shook when he tried to stand. He fell back on the ground, panting, but then he saw two other figures behind that of the rapidly approaching werewolf, they almost looked like a stag and a massive dog, but he couldn't be sure….

The last thing he heard was the screams of his cousins as the werewolf lunged at him, and then the world dissolved into blackness as he fainted.

* * *

A/N Reviews are appreciated!

-xandromedax


	2. Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N Okay, so I changed the title and the summary, don't hate me. I thought they were a little boring and clichéd, especially the old title. Thanks to my reviewers: **You Know Who**, **SilverLily1, Karse, **and **JoJosoup**. You guys inspired me to write this chapter in the middle of my finals. Now I'm officially a second semester senior! *cheers* But you guys don't care about that, do you? Well here's the chapter….

* * *

_The last thing he heard was the screams of his cousins as the werewolf lunged at him, and then the world dissolved into blackness as he fainted._

~*~

"Did you see what happened?" Lily panted as she dropped Al's limp arm on the grass. She shuddered, remembering what the events of the last few minutes. She had glanced over her shoulder as she ran, to see where the werewolf was, and was met with a horrific sight: Al lying on the ground and the werewolf about to pounce on him. She had screamed (like a Banshee, James had jokingly told her) and had begun running in the direction of the werewolf and the prone figure of her brother with her cousins following closely. But when they had got there, the werewolf was gone, and Al was lying unconscious on the leaf-littered ground. They didn't stay long enough to find out where the animal had disappeared; they had dragged Al out of the dangerous forest as quickly as they could and were now in a grassy area. Somehow it seemed strangely familiar, but Lily didn't dwell on it.

"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious? We got there, and the werewolf was gone." Hugo said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No. We got there, but _why _was the werewolf gone? Don't you think it would have been happy to have seven more people to eat? And Al-"

"Did it bite him?" Rose asked anxiously as Roxanne gasped. They bent over Al's body, checking for a bite or teeth mark. After a few minutes, Rose straightened.

"Well, I don't see any bites or marks, so he's okay, I guess. Maybe he fainted from shock," Rose said thoughtfully. The rest of the cousins sighed as one with relief.

"But that's another thing that doesn't make sense," Lily said persistently. "When have you ever heard of a werewolf that doesn't bite a victim when it has the chance?"

Rose nodded, understanding. "Something stopped it, but what?" At their feet, Al groaned and opened his eyes, distracting them from their discussion.

"You okay?" James asked as he offered a hand to Al. He accepted and pulled himself up, wincing as he put weight on his twisted ankle. Seeing this, Rose tapped his ankle with her wand and muttered "_Episkey."_

"Hey guys, look at this," Fred said suddenly. He was staring in the opposite direction at a large building whose turrets and towers stood out starkly against the full moon. Golden squares of light twinkled from its many windows, shining in the darkness. It was-

"Hogwarts," Roxanne breathed. "We came to _Hogwarts_. And that-" She squinted at the dark mass of trees they had just left-"is the _Forbidden Forest_. We're okay! We can go home now!" she cheered. She high-fived Hugo (a muggle habit she had learned from Grandpa Weasley) as Fred slapped James on the back, laughing.

"Well, mate, guess your spectacular miss of that hourglass-thing wasn't that bad. Only took us to Hogwarts!"

James started to protest, but Rose cut him off. "It's night though," she objected. "When we left it was afternoon."

"Rose, stop spoiling the mood. Maybe we just took that long to get here," Fred said, still grinning.

"But it isn't possible to just _appear_ on Hogwarts grounds! There are enchantments to prevent anyone from doing that!"

"Well, maybe we should go in the castle," Dominique said, nervously glancing over her shoulder at the trees. "Then we can go to Headmistress Bones' office and ask to Floo home, and besides, I don't think we should stay here. What if that werewolf is still around?" As she finished her sentence, a howl echoed from the trees, and that was all the encouragement the eight teenagers needed to begin sprinting toward the safety of the castle.

James reached the steps in front of the massive oak doors first, and one by one, the seven others arrived, gasping for air after their frantic run. Dominique tentatively pushed one of the doors, and it opened, creaking slightly.

"That's weird," Fred muttered. "That old caretaker, Harris, always remembers to lock the doors. There was that time we got locked out, remember James? And we had to nick broomsticks and fly-"

"Shh! It's night, what if a teacher hears us and wonders what we're doing here?" Rose hissed, as she carefully shut the door behind them.

"Or a prefect," Lily said slowly, the color draining from her face. They followed her stare to see a girl with long dark red hair approaching from the marble staircase, her wand held in front of her as she looked for any troublemakers, and a Gryffindor Prefect badge gleaming on her robes.

"But prefects shouldn't be in the castle right now!" Hugo whispered. "It's summer!"

They froze, watching her draw nearer. She would see them any second now, and there was no place to hide-

"Come on!" Fred said, struck with an idea. He beckoned and began running toward a tapestry. Realizing what he was going to do, Rose, Dominique, Hugo, Lily, Al and Roxanne followed him. James, however, didn't move. He felt as though he had seen that girl before…

Perhaps alerted by the noise of the others running, the girl turned in time to see James' back as he belatedly rushed to the secret passageway behind the tapestry.

"POTTER!"

"Now you've done it!" Lily cried in exasperation as they groped their way along the dark passageway as quickly as possible. "She saw you!"

"Shut up Lily! She just looked familiar, that's all," James retorted angrily. Why was it always him who messed things up? First the hourglass, and now this. And it was always Lily who was blaming him.

"Yes," Rose said, stopping in the middle of the passageway. "I think I know why." She turned to face them.

"What do you mean?" Roxanne asked breathlessly.

"I noticed when we came in, that there wasn't a war memorial on the grounds. Dumbledore's tomb isn't there either. And it's _night_ and we left in the afternoon. And just now, that girl," she paused, "none of the Gryffindor prefects look like her. There shouldn't be prefects right now anyway. It's summer. And she called you 'Potter', James."

"So, what are you saying?" Fred said, uncharacteristically serious. Rose took a deep breath as though steeling herself.

"I'm saying-I'm saying I think that girl was your grandmother, Lily, James, Al. Lily Potter, or right now, Evans. I-I think that hourglass was a Time-Turner. I think we're in the past."

A long silence stretched between the cousins as they glanced uneasily at each other. Then Dominique spoke.

"Impossible."

Roxanne nodded in agreement. "I'm not saying there isn't something going on here, because there _is_, but I think it's a little far-fetched to say that girl is Lily Potter, and that we're in the past."

There as another silence as Rose glared at them. "You know, just because you don't want to believe it, it doesn't mean it's impossible," she said angrily.

"Only one way to find out, isn't there?" Fred said, a ghost of a grin on his face. "Head's office."

They arrived at the gargoyles that guarded the Head's office mere minutes later, thanks to the guidance of James and Fred who had been to the Head's office enough times that they knew all the shortcuts.

"You should be in bed, kiddos," one of the gargoyles croaked.

"You should-" James began, but Dominique talked over him.

"Dumbledore's Army," she said confidently. The gargoyles refused to move.

"Oh come on!" Roxanne said, pushing her aside. "DA Galleons."

"Don't you see?" Rose said. "In this time it's _Dumbledore's_ office. Cockroach Clusters!"

"Wrong candy, Rose," Hugo said, smirking. "Fizzing Whizbee!"

"Sugar Quills!" Lily guessed when the gargoyles failed to move aside. There was a grinding sound and then the gargoyles moved aside, revealing a curved and moving staircase. Rose glanced sideways and caught the looks of shocked disbelief on Roxanne and Dominique's faces.

"Merlin, so we really _are_ in the past…" Lily whispered as all eight squeezed in on the rotating stair.

"Now we have to face Dumbledore," Hugo muttered, his face ashen. All too soon, the stair brought them to the top of the landing and they stepped onto it.

"Ready?" Rose murmured.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Al answered, gulping. Rose knocked twice on the heavy door. They waited and then they heard-

"Enter."

* * *

A/N Please review! It makes my day : )


	3. Westleys and Parkers

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A/N Thanks to my reviewers **PoseidonPower17**, **SilverLily1**, and **James Hiwatari**.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was pacing in his office. He sighed as he completed one circuit of the room, and turned to walk in the opposite direction toward his desk, which was piled high with stacks of parchment. His mind was whirring with the latest news about Lord Voldemort's activities, of how it was rumored that some of the sixth and seventh year Slytherins were becoming _Death Eaters_. He repressed a shudder at the thought. It was unnerving to think that some of the students he saw going to classes everyday, groaning over homework and personal problems, preparing to start their lives after seven years of magical training, would become or already were, servants of the Dark Lord who were willing to obey him in everything, even if they were commanded to do the most grisly of deeds. He readjusted his glasses on his nose as he finally sat down at his desk and scanned a long letter from the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who was asking him for advice for perhaps the thousandth time. As he debated the politest way to tell Fudge that he had just asked him for this very same advice two months ago, there was a sudden burst of flames in midair, and single scarlet feather floated gently to the floor. The portraits around him squealed in surprise as Dumbledore smiled.

"Students out of bed," he murmured. A clever looking wizard with dark hair made a noise of disgust from one of the portraits.

"I tell you Dumbledore, you're too soft on them. If there were misbehaving students when I was headmaster-"

"Thank you, Phineas," Dumbledore said softly as he glanced at the dark window. The full moon was shining brightly, but he hoped that wherever Potter, Black and Pettigrew were, it wasn't outside. Maybe they fancied a stroll to the kitchens, he mused. Suddenly someone knocked on the door, interrupting his train of thought. Instantly his wand was in his hand, and the letter from Fudge lay forgotten on the desk. Who could be visiting him this late at night? Some errant student, or a teacher? Or someone more sinister?

"Enter," he said, looking at the door warily. The heavy door creaked open, and a nervous looking girl with curly red hair stepped inside, closely followed by a boy with messy black hair and another with reddish hair, and –Dumbledore hid his surprise-five more teenagers, most with red hair.

"Good evening," Dumbledore said coolly. "Who are you?" He fingered his wand as he sat back, assessing them. He didn't think they were a threat, but all the same, in these times, it would be wrong to instantly trust anyone. The one with curly red hair glanced at her companions uncertainly. Noticing her look, a boy with messy back hair and emerald green eyes shrugged. This boy, Dumbledore noted, looked extraordinarily like James Potter, except with different eyes… eyes which seemed to resemble those of Lily Evans. Another black haired boy stood next to him, who also looked quite like James Potter, except that he had light brown eyes and no glasses. The rest were mostly redheads, except for a girl who must be at least part Veela, for she had silvery reddish hair and seemed to emit a faint glow, and a boy and girl with curly dark hair. Interesting.

The Veela girl sighed as she threw her silent companions a dirty look and tossed her sheet of silvery-reddish hair.

"Professor, I-I think we're in the past," she said. The boy with curly dark hair snorted with amusement.

"Haven't we already figured that out?"

"Well I was just-" the girl began to retort, but the one with curly red hair held up her hand to silence her.

"Professor," she said, looking directly at him. "We accidentally smashed an hourglass, which I think was a Time-Turner, and we ended up here. These are my cousins," she added, gesturing.

"I see," Dumbledore said, thoughtfully. This was something he hadn't heard of before. A Time-Turner smashing…it wasn't impossible, but it was improbable. He decided to humor them for now. "Well the year right now is 1976. What year did you and your cousins come from?"

"It was 2022," the curly red head said quietly. Dumbledore hid his surprise again.

"And how did any of you get a Time-Turner?" he asked, watching them carefully. Their story didn't seem plausible-how would eight teenagers acquire a Time-Turner when Time-Turners were safe in the Department of Mysteries?

The boy with green eyes and messy black hair coughed and shifted his feet, but it was a red haired girl standing near him who spoke.

"We-we were playing Quidditch," she said, her voice trembling. "I was a Seeker, and I caught the Snitch. We were using an old one. It used to be my dad's. When I had it in my hand, it _opened_. It split in two, and there was this tiny hourglass in there…" her voice trailed away and she glanced at the curly red head who began to speak.

"There were runes on it," she said, frowning. "I was looking at them when Fred-"she glared at the curly dark haired boy-"tripped me, and it smashed."

Dumbledore put the tips of his fingers together and regarded them over his half-moon glasses.

"And it didn't strike any of you as strange that an hourglass should be hidden in a Snitch? You didn't ask your father about it, since you say the Snitch belonged to him?" His voice was mild, but the red haired girl flinched so violently that her companions looked at her in surprise.

"My dad wasn't home," she said finally, looking pale and shaken. "And we did wonder, but we just wanted to see if we could figure out the runes."

"I see." Dumbledore watched them for a moment longer as they squirmed. Maybe they _were_ from the past. He could give them Veritaserum, since they could be Death Eaters in disguise, but that didn't seem likely. After all, didn't that green-eyed boy look like a mixture of two students, Lily Evans and James Potter? And when he had asked them about the Snitch, he had used Legilimency on the red haired girl, though he hadn't thought she would react so strongly. She was telling the truth. The kids shifted their feet and glanced at each other uneasily under his gaze. He decided to spare them further discomfort and changed the topic. "So why don't you all tell me your names?"

The boy with curly black hair grinned. "Fred Weasley."

"And I'm Dominique Weasley," the girl who looked like a Veela said.

"Lily Potter," the red haired girl said.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Related to James Potter?"

She looked surprised, but nodded. The green eyed boy looked at him.

"Albus Potter." Dumbledore smiled. He liked this kid already. The other boy with black hair rolled his eyes.

"James Potter."

Next to him, the curly red head spoke. "Rose Weasley."

Another girl with curly black hair stepped forward. "Roxanne Weasley."

"Hugo Weasley." This last one was a boy with red hair.

"Well! Since some of you are evidently related to students in this time, and even share the same names, we will have to change your names and appearances," Dumbledore said, getting up and pulling out his wand. A few minutes later, James, Lily and Al had straight brown hair, and Al's eyes were blue. Dominique, Fred, Roxanne, Rose and Hugo were allowed to keep their appearances, since Molly and Arthur Weasley had already graduated. When the three teenagers' looks were changed and they were grimacing at their new appearances, Dumbledore smiled pleasantly at them.

"We will have to invent a cover story for all of you," he said looking at them thoughtfully. "You can keep your relations-those of you who are siblings and cousins can remain so- but all of you were home schooled until recent attacks near your homes forced your parents to enroll you in Hogwarts, where they felt you would be safer."

"Yes, but Professor, shouldn't we change our names?" Rose asked.

Dumbledore smiled again. "An excellent point. Those of you with the last name 'Weasley' will now have the name 'Westley', and these people will also keep their first names. The Potters names will be John, Laura, and Alan, and their last name will be 'Parker'. Also, am I correct in assuming all of you attend Hogwarts in your time and are Gryffindors?"

They all nodded, except for Dominique who hesitated then said, "Actually, I graduated from Hogwarts last year."

"Well, Miss Weasley, for your time here you will simply be a seventh year again," Dumbledore replied. "And the rest of you?"

"Fred and I are sixth years," James said, jerking his thumb at Fred.

"We're fifth years," Rose said, gesturing at herself and Al.

"Third years," Lily and Hugo said in unison.

"And I'm a second year," Roxanne finished. Dumbledore nodded.

"Very well. I will have to research a way to send you all back, but I am afraid it will take me some time, perhaps months. Meanwhile, all of you must stick by the story I made up, and remember your new names. I want all of you to blend in with the rest of the students, and try not to draw attention to yourselves." He looked at them critically, as though X-raying them with his piercing blue eyes. When they all nodded solemnly, he looked at the clock upon the wall.

"It is near midnight, but the Gryffindor prefect, Lily Evans, should be finishing her patrol," he said. "I will ask her to take all of you to Gryffindor Tower." He stood and flicked his wand and a phoenix appeared, swooping low over them as it landed on Dumbledore's shoulder. Dumbledore hastily wrote something on a parchment and gave it to the phoenix, who disappeared in a burst of flames,

Minutes later, the door creaked open and the girl with dark red hair walked in. She glanced at them curiously, evidently wondering what eight students were doing in Dumbledore's office.

"You wanted to see me Professor?" she said politely.

"Yes, Miss Evans. These students have been enrolled in Hogwarts by their parents because it is not safe for them to remain in their hometown. They have been sorted into Gryffindor and they know which years they will be in. Will you please take them to Gryffindor Tower?"

She nodded and beckoned them as she left the office. It wasn't until they were halfway to Gryffindor Tower that she spoke to them. "So, what are your names?" she asked. "Mine is Lily Evans, but you already know that from Dumbledore. I'm a sixth year."

They introduced themselves with their new names, and told her their cover story. She nodded understandingly. "Yeah, there have been a lot of attacks lately," she sighed as they turned into another corridor. "And-oh! I haven't been telling you about the school! There are seven floors, and there are moving staircases, some secret passageways, I believe, and .." she continued to explain the features of the school to them, and assured the dramatically frantic John and Fred that it wouldn't take them long to find their way around and even if they got lost, a ghost would help them. As Fred gave an exaggerated sigh of relief, causing Laura to giggle, they turned another corner and found themselves in front of the Fat Lady.

"This is Fat Lady," Lily explained. "You just have to give her password and then you can go in the common room. _Aconite_!" The portrait swung open, causing John gasp loudly, and they climbed into the reassuringly familiar common room, dimly lit by the dying embers of the fire. Lily pointed the girls up one staircase and the boys up another, before going to her dormitory.

John and Fred said goodnight to Hugo and Al before continuing to their own dormitory. Seeing the nameplate reading _Sixth Years_, they cautiously pushed the door open, expecting to face the other sixth years.

The pale moonlight streamed through the window as John and Fred stepped into the dormitory. The room was empty, but all of the beds had their hangings closed, except for the two more that had been crammed in next to the window.

"Where is everyone?" John whispered. "I don't hear anyone snoring."

"Just because you snore doesn't mean everyone does." Fred snickered.

"Shut up," John said, snatching a pillow from the floor and throwing it at him. Fred dodged, and the pillow hit the hangings of another bed. John held his breath, expecting an angry kid to wake up, but the pillow just sailed through the gap in the hanging and landed softly on the bed.

"Weird," Fred muttered. "There's no one there."

"Hey," John said as he inspected the other beds, which were all unoccupied except for one. "There's only one kid here, someone named Frank Longbottom, from what his trunk says."

"Longbottom? As in _Neville_'s _dad_?"

"Must be…"

"That means the-"

"-Marauders are here too!" John finished excitedly. Maybe this trip _was_ worthwhile, after all.


	4. Meet the Marauders

Disclaimer: Okay, this is for now and all the chapters that will follow this one. I-don't-own-Harry-Potter!

A/N I love SNOW! We're getting 2+ feet, and maybe no school next week! YES! Well anyway, thanks to: **ykickamoocow111, MissCharstar, Leanora, booksRsexy, meNyou.2, victoriam549, KeeperOfTheSecret, SilverLily1, James Hiwatari, and Sunset on Heartache. **

**James Hiwatari: **I reread the last chapter with what you said in mind, and you're right. I changed the chapter to make Dumbledore more skeptical of them. Thanks!

* * *

"_That means the-"_

"_-Marauders are here too!" John finished excitedly. Maybe this trip was worthwhile, after all. _

~*~

"Why are there two more people here?"

"Shhh! You'll wake them up!"

"Ow! Don't punch me! I've got a cut there. Moony was in a bad mood last night."

"Yeah, lucky we got there before-"

"Maybe we can ask Frank what they're doing here."

"They're _sleeping, _isn't it obvious, Wormtail? And besides, Frank already went for breakfast."

The voices drew closer, bickering among themselves in whispers and gradually working their way into John's dreams. John groaned as he came back to consciousness, and pulled his pillow over his head to block out his cousins' annoying voices as they tried to rudely wake him up-wait, were those really his cousins' voices? It didn't sound like them. He had been having a very strange dream, about going into the past and changing his name to _John_ and-suddenly he remembered. He _was_ in the past. The realization hit him like one of Fred's Bludgers, and he sat bolt upright in bed and ripped open the hangings.

Standing in front of him with his mouth open was a tall boy with messy black hair, hazel eyes that were wide in surprise and round glasses like the ones John's father had. In fact, if John hadn't known better, he would have said this boy was his father's long lost twin, except that this boy was missing the green eyes and famous scar. The boy was holding his wand in the air, where it was levitating a bucket of water that he had clearly been planning to dump on John's unsuspecting head. As the boy stared at John in surprise and disappointment that his prank had been foiled, and John stared at the boy in shock, realizing this was his namesake and the grandfather he had never known, a bark of laughter sounded from next to Fred's bed, drawing their attention and snapping John out his reverie.

A very good looking boy with long black hair was standing next to Fred's bed where he was also levitating a bucket of water, though he wasn't paying attention to it as he laughed at the messy haired boy's expression. Standing a short distance away was a smaller boy with mousy brown hair and watery blue eyes who glanced between the boys uncertainly as he chewed his nails.

"Nice job Prongs," the long black haired boy gasped in between laughs.

"Shut up Padfoot, it's not like you pranked the other one any better," the messy haired boy muttered as he vanished his bucket with a casual flick of his wand.

"I'm going to. Watch the master at work!" he said confidently, turning back to Fred's bed. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Fred standing in front of him. Before the other boy could react, Fred smirked, then quickly reached up and pushed the bucket so that it fell on the boy's head, drenching him in icy water that splashed on the floor. The boy froze comically, the upside down bucket over his head and water pooling at his feet as the dormitory rang with laughter. John high-fived Fred and they both watched as the dark haired boy let out a stream of muffled swear words and struggled to get the small bucket off his head.

"Oh he got you, Padfoot," the messy haired boy said, clutching his stomach as he guffawed with laughter. The dark haired boy finally threw off the bucket and shook his head like a wet dog, sending drops of water everywhere and muttering under his breath. The messy haired boy walked over to John and Fred, grinning.

"I'm James Potter, by the way," he said. He glanced at the scowling dark haired boy. The other boy's gray eyes narrowed as he glared at John and Fred and he pushed his sopping hair out of his face.

"Sirius Black."

"C'mon Padfoot, you have to admit it was funny," James said, snickering at Sirius' dark face. Sirius reluctantly grinned, then stared expectantly at John and Fred.

"I'm John Po-_Parker_," John said as Sirius flicked his wand to dry himself and the floor. James raised his eyebrows and his mouth twitched.

"Your name is Po-Parker?"

"No! Just Parker," John said, feeling his face redden. Fortunately, Fred decided to introduce himself at that point, drawing attention away from John.

"And I'm Fred Westley."

James nodded at him, and jerked his thumb at the smaller boy in the corner of the room, who was looking anxiously at his watch.

"He's Peter Pettigrew," he said. Peter looked up at the sound of his name and began chewing his lip when he found everyone staring at him.

"What's up Wormtail? You look like you're going to wet yourself." Sirius smirked.

"Breakfast ends in ten minutes," Peter squeaked as he flushed in embarrassment.

"So tell us," Sirius said to John and Fred as they began walking to the Great Hall, "Where did you two come from?"

"Oh. Well, er, we were living in this village-" Fred said.

"-in the middle of nowhere. No fun, strict rules-" James interjected, making a face.

"-and there were some attacks recently, so our parents decided to send us here so we would be safer," Fred finished, as Sirius and James grimaced sympathetically.

"Are you two brothers or something?" James asked.

"No, cousins. And we've got more-our family is _huge_. There are six more of us around in the castle somewhere."

"Are any of them girls?" Sirius asked a little too enthusiastically for John and Fred's liking.

"Forget about it," John snapped. "My sister and cousins aren't going to date anyone." James snickered at Sirius' crestfallen face as the boys walked through the doors of the Great Hall. John and Fred quickly saw a distinctive group of red heads at the Gryffindor table and headed over to them with James, Sirius, and Peter following. John slid into a seat next to Al as James casually pushed a frightened looking first year out of the next seat and sat there himself.

"Potter!" The boys looked up to see Lily Evans across the table with Laura, Rose, Roxanne, and Dominique around her.

"Evans!" James said, his hand jumping to his already messy hair. "Want to-"

"Potter, you can't just push that first year away! He got there before you! What, do you think you have to make room for your inflated head?" Her green eyes blazed as she glared at James and the Westleys and Parkers watched interestedly.

Sirius barked with laughter as James stuttered under her glare. Al glanced at them uneasily.

"Er, class starts in five minutes," Al said, trying to break the tension. Lily wordlessly swung her bag on her shoulder and stalked away, after sending James another dirty look.

"Why does she hate you so much?" Laura asked James as she finished her toast.

"She doesn't. She really fancies me, but she's just in denial," James assured her. He stared at the large group of cousins, and then looked at John and Fred, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Yep, that's them," Fred said though a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"What about us?" Dominique asked suspiciously. Sirius did a double take and stared at her, mouth slightly open. She smiled at him and tossed her sheet of hair, making James poke Sirius to get him to start breathing again as John and Fred glared at Sirius. Rose frowned as her eyes flickered from James to Sirius, and then whispered something to Dominique, who looked horrified and immediately looked away from Sirius. When Professor McGonagall came to the table a moment later with their schedules, Dominique grabbed hers and hurried away. Laura shrugged and followed her, along with Roxanne and Rose

"You lot better get to class soon," Rose called over her shoulder.

"Let's go now," Peter suggested, and James, Sirius, John, and Fred snatched a few pieces of toast to eat as they went to their first class, Potions.

"Now, Potions is easy," Sirius told John and Fred as they sauntered to the dungeons several minutes late. "All you have to do is flatter ol' Sluggy like Evans does, and you'll be fine."

"Sluggy?"

"Slughorn, the professor. You'll see him in a bit."

"Hey," John said, turning to look at James, Fred, and Peter. "Why do you three call yourselves Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail?" He knew these were the names on the Marauder's Map, but his father had never explained the meaning behind the nicknames. In fact, his father rarely told him anything about the war. He and his cousins had gleaned any information they knew about it from Extendable Ears.

The three boys glanced at each other before James spoke.

"Well, Sirius is Padfoot because he can walk really quietly, so he can prank unsuspecting people. And Peter is Wormtail because he, er, likes worms, played with them a lot as a kid. I'm Prongs since there was this prank we pulled once where I jinxed all the forks at the Slytherin table." As James finished speaking, the boys found themselves outside the door to the classroom, and they went inside. The dungeon was already a haze of multicolored smoke with students feverishly stirring their cauldrons and squinting at the directions on the board.

"You're late boys!" A large, short man said reprovingly. "I'm Professor Slughorn, Dumbledore explained your circumstances," he added to John and Fred. "We're making the Swelling Solution today, but this is stronger than the ones we have previously done. Well, get working!" he said, handing spare textbooks to John and Fred. He waddled in the direction of Lily Evans, who was working a few tables away.

"How're you feeling, Remus?" James asked a pale boy with sandy hair who was working over a cauldron next to them. Remus was about to answer when he caught sight of John and Fred. Seeing the direction of his look, Sirius introduced them and told Remus why they were there.

"Why aren't you working yet, boys?" Slughorn said, appearing through the haze and frowning at them. "Snape is almost finished and none of you have even started!" They looked over Slughorn's shoulder to see a boy with long greasy black hair and hooked nose a few desks across from them.

"Snape?" John asked curiously as he and Fred set up their cauldron. James and Sirius set up theirs and Peter joined Remus. John thought he had heard his father say that name before….

Sirius checked to be sure Slughorn was out of earshot before speaking. "Snape's a slimy git," he said darkly. "Nosy, ugly, annoying. He deserves a prank-hey James, want to do one now? I've got some Filibuster Fireworks, I think."

James hesitated, looking at the back of a dark red head before replying. "Yeah, alright. We can-"

"-throw the fireworks into his cauldron!" John said, his eyes lighting up with mischief. "Make his nose swell so it's even bigger."

On their other side, Remus pursed his lips and looked away but Peter edged toward them, looking excited. Fred grinned as James and Sirius glanced at each other.

"You want to do it?" James asked them. At Fred's enthusiastic nod, Sirius looked around and pulled out a few fireworks from his pocket.

"Careful," he said. "You have to get it right the first time or this prank's failed."

"No worries." John grinned.

"Yeah, John's a Chaser, he's good at aiming," Fred agreed. James pointed his wand at the back of Lily Evans' head and muttered a Shield Charm before nodding to John and Fred.

"Well, if you two make this good, we can make you officially honorary Marauders," he said. "Like us."

"Okay. One-two-three!" Fred whispered, as the Marauders ducked underneath the table.

When Fred said "three", John took careful aim and lobbed the fireworks though the haze. They had just enough time to see them about to land in Snape's cauldron, before they ducked under the table next to the Marauders, and then there was a colossal explosion of green potion and the floor shook as the students screamed. But there was one scream that was louder than the others.

"DETENTION POTTER, BLACK, PETTIGREW, LUPIN!"

* * *

A/N Please review!


	5. Attack in the Library

Disclaimer: I don't want to take a chance and get sued, so I'll have to keep saying this….I don't own Harry Potter

A/N Okay I don't love snow that much. Right after I uploaded the last chapter, we lost power and internet access for days because of all the snow. But we did get school canceled for this whole week! 52.5 inches of snow total! 4.375 feet ! *CHEERS*

Thanks to: **Squid7000, James Hiwatari, Leanora, and Sammi.**

**

* * *

  
**

_But there was one scream that was louder than the others._

"_DETENTION POTTER, BLACK, PETTIGREW, LUPIN!"_

_~*~_

"We're done for," an ashen-faced Remus muttered as he crouched under the desk with the rest of the Marauders and John and Fred. The classroom was in pandemonium. Acid green potion oozed across the stone floor, turning a nasty orange color as it came into contact with spilled ingredients from other tables. Students fearfully felt the damage done to their faces, and some of them tried to fix their swollen arms or legs with their wands, resulting in several bangs and puffs of black smoke. Someone had thrown open the windows to let out the smelly smoke and the acrid odor of burnt potion. Slughorn had received a faceful himself, but had quickly taken the antidote, so he was back to normal size and was now shouting for a line to be formed so he could give the rest of the class the antidote. This was difficult, however, since some students' legs were so swollen they could barely move.

"Look at Snape!" Sirius hissed delightedly, peering out from under the table. The boys followed his gaze and saw Snape. His head was so large it resembled a boulder covered with long greasy hair, and his nose had grown to ten times its normal size. It drooped until it reached his chest, and his arms were so puffy he could barely lift them. The boys quickly withdrew their heads again, before Slughorn could see them and shook with silent laughter at the image of Snape. It was several minutes before any of them could calm down enough to speak.

"Well, I guess you two are worthy of us," James said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Marauders, the best troublemakers in the history of Hogwarts," Sirius added proudly. Remus sighed while Peter's face turned dark and he glared at John and Fred. No one noticed this however, because Sirius began to loudly proclaim John and Fred as the newest additions to the Marauders. As he was speaking, a frosty voice interrupted them.

"I suppose you six think that was _funny_?" The Marauders and John and Fred whipped their heads around to see Lily Evans, her green eyes snapping fire and her fists clenched.

"Evans!" James said cheerfully, his hand once again leaping to his hair. "Care to join us?"

She gave him a withering look. "People could have gotten hurt! Look at them! How would you like to be covered in a swelling potion? Oh right, I forgot, it wouldn't affect you because your head couldn't possibly get any bigger."

"Wait a minute, Evans," Sirius interjected, seeing the hurt look on James' face and feeling he needed to draw attention away from him. "No one said we did it."

"I'm not stupid, Black," Lily said, now glaring at him. "Severus got the most potion splashed on him, all of you are safe under the table, and I'm not covered in potion either."

John started at the name "Severus". That was Al's middle name…could that Snape kid be the one his dad had spoken so highly of? No, it couldn't be, it must be someone else named "Severus". But even after reassuring himself, he felt as though his stomach was sinking…

"But you don't have any proof," Sirius protested.

"I don't need any," she replied. "I'm going straight to Professor Slughorn and I'm telling him what happened. And you two-" She looked at John and Fred "-I thought you were nicer than this. I suppose I was wrong." She gave them all one last scathing look and swept away from them, in direction of Slughorn. The boys were silent after she left, occasionally exchanging glances and listening to the chaos still reigning around them.

When the bell rang, the boys stood up, hoisted their bags over their shoulders and tried to quickly leave the classroom under the cover of the horde of students rushing to the door. But they had barely crossed the threshold, and were gleefully congratulating each other on pulling off the prank without even getting caught, when James and Sirius were yanked back into the classroom.

"Why did they go back in?" Fred asked, standing on his toes to see over the heads of the students still squeezing out the door.

"I don't know. Oh wait, I can see Lily, I think," John replied, craning his neck and catching a glimpse of dark red hair. Peter shifted uneasily.

"Maybe we should go before Slughorn catches us too," he squeaked, his eyes darting around the rapidly emptying hallway. John and Fred exchanged glances, but it was Remus who spoke.

"We can't leave them like this," he said. "We-"

"Fred and I will go in," John decided. "It's only fair that we get the detention too. Neither of you were involved, so don't come in with us." Peter looked relieved.

"Well, alright," Remus said slowly. "Peter and I will be in the common room, then." Fred nodded, and then John and Fred entered the classroom, which was still reeking of the burnt potion. James and Sirius were standing in front of Slughorn and seemed to be earnestly explaining something. Lily stood off to the side, her arms crossed and a dark look on her face. Slughorn looked up at the sound of footsteps and saw John and Fred at the doorway.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked, surprised. "And where are Pettigrew and Lupin?"

"Sir, we did the prank, not Peter or Remus," Fred said. "And, er, we're sorry." Slughorn stared at them for a moment, then sighed.

"All right. I'm giving the six of you detention for the next week. Come to my office at eight o'clock, starting tonight. You will be cleaning up the mess and when you're finished with that, you will be organizing my cabinets." Lily looked outraged.

"But Professor, won't you report them to Professor Dumbledore? They hurt many people in the class!"

"True, Miss Evans, but I will give them another chance. After all, Mr. Black did send me a box of crystallized pineapple a few days ago," he said, winking merrily at them as he waddled into his office.

Lily glared at Sirius. "You send him those gifts so you can get away with pranks, don't you?" she said accusingly.

"A Marauder never tells his secrets, Evans." Sirius grinned. Lily opened her mouth again but before she could say another word, James, Sirius, John and Fred dashed out the door.

--

"You two are such _idiots_."

It was six in the evening, and all the cousins had gathered in a deserted corner of the library, far from the other students and Madam Pince. They were grouped next to one of the dark windows, which was being lashed by rain as a gale blew outside. The lamps near them flickered, casting shadows on the girls' faces and making their scowls seem even deeper. Rose frowned at John and Fred and continued her tirade.

"Neither of you know Snape. You didn't have a reason to prank him! And of all the things, throwing _firecrackers_ in his cauldron? Is this what you use your Quidditch skills for, John?" Her voice rose with indignation.

"And besides, didn't you remember what Dad told us?" Al said. "About Severus Snape?"

"I-I didn't remember that," John muttered, examining his feet. Dominique gave a very un-ladylike snort that would have horrified her mother.

"_Honestly. _You can remember other things you shouldn't and you can't remember this?"

"And Dumbledore told us not to attract attention, and the whole school knows about the prank," Roxanne added.

"Yeah!" Hugo agreed. "He told us that for a reason. Probably for our safety."

"And now we have to listen to another of Lily Evans' rants of how much she hates all of you," Laura sighed. "She was friends with Severus Snape, she told us at lunch. Not that I don't like spending time with her. I mean, this is the only time we have to get to know everyone."

"But that's not the point, Li-Laura," Rose said, correcting herself, and glancing hastily around the bookshelves.

"There's no one here, Rose," Fred said lazily, leaning back in his chair. "No one sane comes to the library-"

Rose raised an eyebrow dangerously at him, and Fred fell silent.

"But you two can't keep drawing attention to yourselves. When you do that, people start looking at _us, _and ask questions," Dominique said earnestly. "So promise, if either of you feels the urge to prank, try not to be seen or-" She stopped talking abruptly and looked alarmed, her eyes fixed on the wall next to the window that was partially covered by the side of a bookshelf.

"What?" Roxanne asked, worried.

There was a thump from one of the bookshelves in the corner, and a large book tumbled from a shelf. But Rose was staring at a shadow on the wall.

"There's someone here!" She gasped. Al jumped up, knocking his chair over and drew his wand, along with John, Fred, Dominique, and Laura.

"Who's there?" John said loudly, pointing his wand into the gap between the side of the bookshelf and the wall. As he spoke, the lamps around them blew out, leaving wisps of smoke curling from the extinguished wicks and they could hear quiet footsteps in the next row of shelves. Roxanne and Laura gasped, their eyes wide. Suddenly, Fred squeezed through the gap and they held their breaths, but they could only hear him stumbling and swearing as he tripped over some books.

"We're coming, Fred," Rose called, preparing to squeeze through the gap herself, but John pushed her aside and went through the gap first. But as Rose began to follow him, they heard a particularly loud swear, a shout and two distinct _thuds_ as the darkness in the next row was shot with brilliant rays of scarlet and violet. The girls screamed as one and Al lit the lamps with a flick of his wand as they tumbled through the gap and into the next row of shelves.

All six cousins stopped in their tracks at the sight before them. John and Fred were sprawled across the floor, clearly unconscious. Their fingers curled around air, for their wands were missing, and a stream of blood was trickling down John's face and dripping on the floor. There was no one else around.

"Merlin," Dominique breathed. "What happened to them?" Roxanne shook her head slowly, her fingers pressed to her mouth in horror. Laura glanced sideways at her and remembered that Roxanne couldn't stand the sight of blood.

"What is going on here?" A sharp voice demanded. They tore their gaze away from the floor to see Madam Pince striding toward them, looking livid at the fact that they had dared to disturb the peace in her library. A crowd of students was forming and curiously peering into the aisle to see what had happened.

"Why are you screaming in the library?" Madam Pince snapped as she fought her way through the crowd. Roxanne pointed a shaking finger at John and Fred, and even Madam Pince fell silent. The students in the crowd began whispering, some looking horrified, and some in Slytherin colors looked excited. Rose groaned quietly.

"This will be all over school by morning," she muttered dismally.

"Never mind about the school!" Dominique whispered sharply. "We have to get James and Fred to the Hospital Wing!"

"Get them out of here!" Madam Pince screamed shrilly. "Out! Before they bleed on the books!" The whispers of the watching students grew louder and the crowd parted to let Dominique and Al levitate John and Fred out of the library.

Hugo and Laura burst through the doors of the Hospital Wing first, startling a much younger looking Madam Pomfrey who was drawing the curtains closed around a bed in the corner of the room.

"Blimey, looks the same, doesn't it?" Hugo muttered to Laura, who nodded, remembering all the times she had come in here with Quidditch injuries…

At that moment Dominique and Al came through the doors with John and Fred, startling Madam Pomfrey a second time. Madam Pomfrey gasped and began working over them immediately. The cousins stood back, watching worriedly as Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over John and Fred and whispered incantations.

"So someone was listening to us and when Fred and James went to see who it was, they cursed them. Why?" Roxanne whispered.

"Well, in this time, Voldemort is alive, so there is a war going on right? Maybe it was a-a-Death Eater," Dominique guessed.

"No," Rose said decisively. "I think it was a student, but if James and Fred hadn't gone to see who it was, I'm sure they would have just left." She shivered. "It's lucky we didn't talk too much about ourselves in the library. Whoever it was probably heard everything we said."

"I think it was a Slytherin," Hugo said, as Madam Pomfrey began spooning green liquid into John's mouth. "Only a Slytherin would curse people like that."

"I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will be able to make them better," Laura said. "She's never failed before, even in our time."

Silence fell in the Hospital Wing as they each contemplated what had happened. It was a rude awakening to the fact that in this time period, anything could happen.

* * *

A/N This chapter is kind of darker, but they have to realize that this Hogwarts is not the one they are used to.


	6. Mistakes and Tryouts

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A/N Sorry to disappoint people who are hoping this is a new chapter…it's not! I accidentally deleted it, so here is again. And I fixed some typos, so maybe it's better now.

Thanks to: snowvet, crazy-wee-cat, Bri P., ykickamoocow111, FirePheonix86, and James Hiwatari

And I'm sorry about being pathetic about reviews in the previous version of this chapter. Here's my excuse: I was feeling really horrible and worthless because I was worried about getting rejected from my dream college, so I thought that my writing was crap too.

So review if you want to, okay? Although reviews are still very much appreciated and give me something to look forward too…

* * *

_Silence fell in the Hospital Wing as they each contemplated what had happened. It was a rude awakening to the fact that in this time period, anything could happen._

~*~

Moonlight streamed through the tall windows of the Hospital Wing, casting a pale glow on the peaceful sleeping faces of John and Fred. The Wing was quiet, its silence only interrupted by the even deep breathing of its two occupants, until-

_Squueeaaakkk_

"Shh!"

"I can't help it if my shoes squeak!"

"Shut up! What if Pomfrey comes out here?"

"Well she won't see us. That's kind of the point of an Invisibility Cloak."

"But she can _hear_ us."

"Cut it out, you two. Look, there they are."

The four Marauders, still hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, edged toward the two occupied beds. At a silent signal, Remus and Peter slipped out from under the Cloak and went to Fred's bed. James and Sirius, still under the Cloak, sneaked toward John's bed. Sirius prodded John's shoulder, but he grunted and continued sleeping. Meanwhile, Remus and Peter were taking it in turns to poke Fred, and then duck out of sight when

Fred grumbled and opened his eyes a fraction to see who it was.

"Go away Albus," Fred muttered sleepily, turning over.

"_Albus?"_ Peter mouthed to Remus, a confused look on his face.

Just then, James shoved John's shoulder violently, almost causing John to fall off the bed.

"Arghhhh!" John yelled as he woke with a start. Sirius and James pulled the Cloak off.

"Blimey," Fred said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Taking advantage of the fact that there might have been a mild sleeping potion in Madam Pomfrey's evening pumpkin juice," Sirius said casually, sitting on the edge of John's bed.

"You _what_?" Remus asked incredulously, whipping his head around to stare at Sirius.

"Relax, Remus," James said. "It's just so she wouldn't hear us come in."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Relax," Sirius repeated. "Now, let's get to the point."

"Yeah," Remus agreed, now looking at Fred and John. "What happened? The whole school is talking about some attack on you two in the library. Is it true?"

"No, Remus. The point is, what were they doing in the library anyway? No self respecting sane person sets foot in that place," Sirius said, looking in mock suspicion at John and Fred.

"Some people go in the library," James said defensively. "Like Lily." Sirius snorted and started to say something, but Remus cut him off.

"Did you see who it was?"

"No, not really," Fred said, his face screwed up as he tried to remember.

"Yeah, I think it was some skinny bloke with longish dark hair, and I definitely saw the Slytherin badge on his robes," John said. James exchanged a look with Sirius, whose face was suddenly thunderous.

"Well, Slughorn let all of you off detention anyways," Peter murmured, in an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.

"So," Sirius said loudly, determined to change the subject. His jaw was clenched and his fists were balled in his pockets. "Who is that pretty relative of yours that had blonde hair?"

"She's off limits," Fred said, glaring at him.

"I can't even know her name?" Sirius asked, faking a pout. James laughed. "He's between girlfriends right now," he said to Fred and John. "And he has a preference for blondes."

"What about Hestia, from Ravenclaw?" Remus suggested, helping himself to a Chocolate Frog from his pocket.

"Hestia," Sirius muttered thoughtfully. "Not a bad idea."

Silence fell again in the Hospital Wing as Remus finished his Frog and James fiddled with a corner of his Cloak.

"Who's Albus?" Remus asked suddenly, catching Fred and John off guard.

"Albus?" Fred said nervously. "I don't know."

"We don't know anyone named Albus," John said quickly.

"Really?" Remus said skeptically. "Then why did you tell him to go away when we woke you up?"

"You must have misheard," Fred said dismissively, trying to look indifferent.

"I have a brother named Alan," John spoke up. "I think that's what Fred was trying to say. He doesn't speak clearly when he's half asleep, you know. Slurs sometimes. "

Remus continued to look askance at them, but dropped the subject. Fred and John breathed a silent sigh of relief.

--

The next few days passed quickly. Lily had come to the Hospital Wing to see how Fred and John were doing and angrily speculate on who would attack them. Unfortunately, the Marauders had been there as well, and Lily had shouted at James so loudly that Madam Pomfrey had banned both the Marauders and Lily from the Hospital Wing, leaving the six cousins as John and Fred's only visitors. Finally, five days after the attack, Madam Pomfrey reluctantly agreed to release them.

"Finally," Fred grumbled, biting the head off a Chocolate Frog. The cousins were gathered in the Wing, eating the pile of sweets the Marauders had left and talking in hushed voices.

"I think she's even worse that she was in our time," John agreed.

"So, you said that you let slip Al's name, Fred?" Rose whispered, still fixated on the mistake.

"Yeah," Fred said through a mouthful of Frog. "You know how Al wakes people up, right? He just pokes them, and I guess I forgot where we were and thought it was Al trying to wake me up. And he only stops if you call him Albus, 'cause he hates his name."

"I don't _hate_ it," Al muttered. "I just don't like it."

"Well, now Remus is suspicious," Dominique said. "And we've got to keep a low profile, so we can't make any more mistakes."

"Did Dumbledore say anything about when we're going back?" Laura asked in a small voice.

"No," Roxanne said quietly, shaking her head. "I guess we just have to make the best of the time we're here."

"Time," Hugo murmured. He looked at his watch. "Bloody hell, I forgot! James told me to tell all of you that the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts are today, in ten minutes! He said we could come to watch, or if we played, try out-"

"Why didn't you say so?" John shouted, throwing back his bedcovers and leaping out of the bed.

"Come on! We can go and try out!" Fred called over his shoulder as he raced out of the Wing.

The cousins followed them with the loud protests of Madam Pomfrey, who had seen them leave, still ringing in their ears.

A large group of Gryffindors was already gathered on the Quidditch pitch by the time they got there, and they could make out the messy dark hair of James in the center of the throng.

"I'm trying out," announced John, making his way to the group. Fred joined him, but the rest of the cousins decided to go to the stands to watch, mainly because Rose said that too many of them on the team would draw attention.

"Hey!" James called, seeing John and Fred. "How are you feeling? Here to try out?"

"Yeah!" Fred called back, and he and John grabbed two school broomsticks. Sirius and Peter were also there, clutching broomsticks, but while Sirius was laughing and joking with the rest of the Gryffindors, Peter's face was light green, and he looked as though he was about to be sick.

"Peter's here for Chaser," James informed John, seeing him staring at Peter. "And Sirius is here for Beater. I'm a Chaser, myself."

"I'm here for Chaser too, and Fred's here for Beater," John replied, his eyes scanning the group.

"Really? Well, I'd say you have a pretty good chance then, from the way you threw that firecracker into Snivelly's cauldron," James said, winking. He walked away toward the center of the large, chattering group and ordered them all to mount their broomsticks, while John stared after him. His grandfather, the legendary namesake he had never known, had just complimented his Quidditch skills…

Suddenly he was glad, glad that he had somehow come to the past, even though there were so many inconveniences. He had a chance of a lifetime-to spend time with his unknown grandparents before terrible things happened to them. He mentally shook himself. Now was not the time to get emotional, he told himself sternly. He wasn't a girl, like his sister, to get all weepy over something like this. He came back to reality in time to hear James' voice.

"On the count of three, I want you all to do some laps around the pitch, so I can see how you fly," James yelled. "One-two-THREE!" He blew his whistle, and dozens of broomsticks lifted into the air.

In the stands, the rest of the cousins had found Lily Evans and her group of friends. Lily swore that she had only come to watch the tryouts because her friends had made her, but Rose noticed the way Lily's eyes lingered on a certain messy haired player. She turned away, hiding a smile.

"Oh look, the Chasers are trying out now," Mary MacDonald, one of Lily's friends, exclaimed. She pointed to the specks now zooming around the goal posts, trying to get the Quaffle past the Keeper.

A few minutes later, the Chasers left the air, and the Beaters came next. One Beater hopeful was so nervous, he swung the bat and knocked himself out. The group watching in the stands gasped.

"Wasn't that Davy Gudgeon?" Dorcas Meadows asked, her hand over her mouth. They watched as James flew to catch the unlucky boy, and ordered the finished Chasers to take him to the Hospital Wing.

"He gets into so many accidents," Lily murmured. "At least James caught him."

"He's _James_ now?" Roxanne asked teasingly. "What happened to _Potter_?"

"I didn't-I mean-" Lily stuttered, her face glowing scarlet to match her hair. Lily's friends laughed and teased her as the Keepers came to try out and then the Seeker.

"Lil-_Laura's_ a good Seeker," Hugo said, his eyes on the Snitch flitting around the pitch. "She should have tried out." Rose glared at him and stomped on his foot, causing him to give a short yelp of pain.

"Why didn't you?" Lily asked, turning her emerald gaze on Laura.

"I didn't want to. Fred and John are already trying out anyway," Laura said, determinately not looking at Lily. Lily stared at her, puzzled, but she was distracted by James blowing his whistle again. All the Quidditch hopefuls gathered in the center of the pitch.

"Let's go down and see who got in," Roxanne suggested excitedly. They rushed down the stands, Lily somewhat reluctantly, and reached the pitch in time to see the new players breaking away from the group with joyous looks on their faces.

"I'm Chaser!" John yelled at the same time that Fred shouted, "I made Beater and so did Sirius!"

"Congratulations!" Lily called to them. "Who is the other Chaser?"

"Someone named Sturgis Podmore," John said as he and Fred reached their cousins, who slapped them on the backs and congratulated them. Mary MacDonald and Dorcas Meadows giggled and nudged each other as they watched a blonde boy hoisting his broomstick over his shoulder.

"Peter didn't make it. John took the empty spot on the team, since Sturgis was a guaranteed player anyway. Apparently Peter really wanted to get on the team. He's mumbling about how he could have finally fit in," Fred informed them, pointing to Peter Pettigrew.

He was standing with the rest of the Marauders who seemed to be consoling him. His face had been downcast, but when Fred pointed to him, he looked up and locked eyes with John, who felt a chill.

Peter's face was full of anger, sadness, and disbelief, but that wasn't what worried John.

It was the look in Peter's eyes that promised vengeance.

* * *

A/N So, who do you think is the person that attacked Fred and John? Take a guess!


	7. Mysteries

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure my name is xandromedax, not JK Rowling…so I guess that means I don't own Harry Potter. ~sigh~

A/N Thanks to KThxBai, Cally Chloe, Jokegirl, mi-chan (mayumi mizuki), dancingcraze96, James Hiwatari, Spicysweetchica101, snowvet and Leanora.

Now back to the wonderful world of Harry Potter..

* * *

_July 15, 2022_

From the outside, the pub was a small rundown building, dark and filthy and the sign announcing it's name swung creakily in the breeze. But warm squares of yellow light shone from its windows, beckoning the robed witches and wizards who hurried past Muggles on the street outside to pass into the magical pub.

Inside, the Leaky Cauldron bustled with activity. The roaring fire (though it was summer) in the corner flickered and crackled, casting merry shadows on the walls. Occasionally it turned a brilliant green as witches and wizards Flooed in or out. Laughter and talk filled the air, with old warlocks arguing over the latest _Transfiguration Today_ article, witches gossiping and giggling over butterbeers, hags hunched over their tables and talking in grunts, large groups of friends happily catching up with each other. A steady stream of people went in and out the back door, going to the hidden entrance of Diagon Alley. Hannah Longbottom's cheerful voice rose above the babble as she approached a small table tucked away in a corner next the bar, clutching a flagon of butterbeer in each hand.

"Harry, Ginny!" she called. "Good to see you!"

Ginny and Harry waved as Hannah greeted Ron and Hermione, who were sitting with them. Hannah set the butterbeers down with an air of relief.

"Merlin, it's been so busy today! I'm glad the kids are at Hogwarts with Neville right now, so I don't have to worry about what they're doing," she said, smiling.

Hermione smiled back. "Are they helping Neville grow plants for the next school year?"

Hannah nodded as Ginny sighed.

"If only our own kids could be so easily occupied. But no, they have to always be doing something exciting, getting into trouble," Ginny said, sipping her butterbeer.

"We've left them with their cousins for today while we were visiting George and Angelina at their shop. I don't think the kids can create too much havoc. Besides, Rose and Dominique are there, and they usually calm them down when they get rowdy," Harry said.

"Rule followers, like Hermione," Ron said, shaking his head. Hermione smacked his arm playfully as Ginny, Harry, and Hannah laughed. Another wizard shoved past their table on the way to the bar, accidentally knocking into Ron.

"Sorry," he said, barely glancing at their table.

"S'alright," Ron muttered, rubbing his bruised shoulder. "I've been through worse."

The wizard did a double take as Ron spoke and took a longer look at the table.

"Is that _Harry Potter_?" He shouted, his eyes widening in excitement. The babble of voices in the pub quieted at once and suddenly everyone was on their feet, craning their necks for a glimpse of the hero of the Wizarding World.

"Mr. Potter, I'm Timothy Andrews of the _Daily Prophet. _It's an honor to meet you! If you don't mind, could you answer a few questions for me?" The wizard asked enthusiastically, whipping out a quill and parchment from his pocket. Harry felt vaguely repulsed. This reporter reminded him too much of Rita Skeeter, and he even had the same acid green quill. Perhaps they were related.

Ron swore. "I knew those bloody reporters would find us eventually. Next time we need find a table that is more hidden."

The four stood up and fought their way through the crowd to the door, dodging questions and hastily signing scraps of parchment shoved at them by eager fans as dozens of cameras flashed. After several long minutes, they managed to reach the door, and they squeezed out of the pub into the warm evening air. They heard Hannah lock the door behind them, shouting at everyone to leave them alone.

They said good bye to each other, and then Ron and Hermione turned on the spot and disappeared with two small _pops_. After they left, Harry turned to look at Ginny in the dim twilight.

"What do you reckon we do now? Should we go home, or wander Muggle London? We don't usually get much time alone together, and in Muggle London, there won't be any reporters."

Ginny bit her lip and frowned. "Harry, I know we don't get much time, with your work and me always traveling for Quidditch, but I can't help worrying about the kids."

"What are you worrying about?" Harry said gently, taking her hands. "Dominique is there to supervise them, and the kids are old enough to know not to do anything drastic, like blow up the house," he added jokingly.

Ginny smiled despite her worry and acquiesced, allowing herself to be drawn into a kiss.

--

It was well past midnight when two figures arrived at the ward boundary of the Potter House with soft _pops_.

"That was the best evening I've had in a long time," Ginny sighed. Harry nodded in agreement as he undid the wards on the house. Ginny stepped over the boundary and headed up to the house with Harry by her side.

"It's all dark inside, so they must be in bed," Ginny murmured. "Good." Suddenly Harry stumbled on something and swore, holding his toes.

"What?" Ginny asked, instantly worried. She lit her wand and directed its light at the ground. She gasped as she saw a pair of broomsticks.

"We told them not to go outside and play Quidditch!" she said angrily, raising her wand. The wand's light fell on six more broomsticks, lying haphazardly on the ground along with Beater's bats and a Quaffle.

"They went to play Quidditch, then they went inside," Harry said reassuringly. "I just hope they didn't lose my Snitch," he added, more to himself.

With a feeling of foreboding, they entered the house, which was deathly silent and pitch black. There was not even the faint sounds of quiet conversations or games of Exploding Snap the kids often played when they were supposed to be asleep. It was too quiet, Harry thought. Eerily silent.

"They must be in bed," Ginny repeated. "I'll go upstairs and check on them." Harry nodded, then made his way to the kitchen to make himself something to eat. As he walked down the hall and turned on the light, he noticed his study door was ajar. He stopped in his tracks, surprised. He was sure he hadn't left it like that. He poked his head around the door, but before he could get a proper look at the room, Ginny screamed from upstairs. Harry hastily withdrew his head, and rushed to the foot of the stairs, his wand in his hand and his heart thudding. Ginny appeared at the top of the stairs, her wand also out, and her face white.

"They aren't there! No one is there! Their beds aren't even made and it's the middle of the night! And I tried _Homenum Revelio_ and there's no one here but us!"

"It's okay," Harry said, trying to believe what he was saying. "They probably went to some friend's house, or maybe they went to one of your brothers' houses."

Ginny nodded, willing herself to be calm. She wondered why she was so worried anyway. The kids were old enough to stay the night at a friend's house and be fine. She was just nervous because she had grown up in the war, when unexpected disappearances meant terrible things. And the world was safe now. But suppose something had happened to them…

"We should check with Ron and Hermione, they might have gone there. Or Bill and Fleur. Maybe even George's shop. And then we should check their friends' houses," she said.

Ten minutes later, Ginny and Harry were back at the front door of their house with Ron, Hermione, Bill, Fleur, George, and Angelina who had been frantic at the news that their kids were also gone.

"I think we should check the house," Hermione said quietly. "Maybe they left a note or something." The eight adults entered the house, turning on lights until they reached the living room. The women gasped at the scene before them.

Shards of butterbeer bottles littered the floor, their liquid already soaked into the rugs. More bottles were on the tables, some unopened. Chairs lay on their sides, knocked over by some unknown force. Cushions from the sofas were strewn about the room, their stuffing oozing from gashes in the fabric. Pictures hung askew on the walls, and picture frames and vases of flowers had shattered, spilling their contents everywhere. A sofa was overturned next to the windows. The destruction seemed to have radiated from the center of the room, where there was a fine sprinkling of the purest, whitest powder they had ever seen. Tiny shards of glass mingled with this powder and a small gold hourglass holder lay off to the side.

"What _is_ that?" Angelina asked, moving forward to touch the powder. Harry grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

"Don't," he warned. "I have a bad feeling about this…." His voice trailed away as he took a closer look at it. Hermione stared at it intently for several minutes, as though trying to memorize it. A look of comprehension dawned on her face.

"Oh," she said softly, her hand over her mouth.

"What?" Ron asked her.

"It's-well-I think I might recognize that stuff," she said hesitantly. "It shimmers-" She paused, tilting her head as she gazed thoughtfully at the powder.

"It almost reminds me of that time a long time ago, in fifth year, in the Department of Mysteries," she continued, glancing at Harry. Harry motioned for her to keep talking.

"And I just think-of course I can't be sure, and I may be wrong- it sort of looks like the sand in the Time-Turners that we had smashed. But I really don't know, especially since we didn't look at the Time-Turners too closely before we smashed them. It could be anything," she said thoughtfully.

"So, you're saying that powder could actually be from a broken Time-Turner?" Bill said slowly.

"And something could have happened to the kids when they smashed that Time-Turner?" George asked.

"It's possible," Hermione said, now examining the gold holder.

"But when we smashed the Time-Turners in fifth year, how come something didn't happen to us?" Ron asked, confused.

"Because eet was in ze Department of Mysteries. Zere could have been a shield around ze place so whoever worked with ze Time-Turners would not have zat risk," Fleur said, her face thoughtful.

"But what happened to the kids?" Angelina asked frantically. "Where did they go? We don't even know what that thing did to them!"

"It's definitely a Time-Turner," Hermione said, from where she was kneeling on the floor. She held up the gold holder. "It's covered in runes. It says,

"_He who wields me wields the Sands of Time, the past and future, life, death and immortality._

_He who steals me will face the darkest of fates and will be cursed for eternity._

_Beware, you have been forewarned._

–_S.S."_

She finished reading and looked up at her family, but they just stared at her, looking bemused.

"Great, just what we need," Ron said sarcastically. "A cryptic message. I thought we were done with those nice things when the war ended."

"So, ze kids are lost somewhere in time?" Fleur asked, her voice trembling. No one answered her, trying not to think of the horrors their kids could be facing.

"Dumbledore," Ginny said suddenly. "Let's go to Dumbledore's portrait. Maybe he can tell us how to get them back."

"No, wait," Hermione said authoritatively. "Where did that Time-Turner come from? If we can find that out, maybe it would help. Did anyone see anything unusual around the house or-?"

She looked inquiringly at Harry, who had cleared his throat.

"I noticed that my study door was open when I came in. I usually keep it closed," Harry said. "That's the only other thing out of the ordinary I saw around here."

They hurried over to Harry's study, where they saw the open Snitch lying innocently on the desk.

"Harry, is-is that your Snitch?" Ginny whispered.

"Yeah, but I don't understand-why is it split in two?"

"Maybe the Time-Turner was inside it," Hermione said, placing the gold holder next to the Snitch. "Yes, it's small enough to have fit in there."

"Harry, where did you get zat Snitch from?" Fleur asked, staring at the broken Snitch.

"I don't remember," Harry said, frowning. "I think it was a wedding present from one of the guests. I think the person told me that Snitch is special for some reason. Some story behind it that has to do with some powerful wizard."

"Brings back memories of the war, doesn't it?" Ron muttered. "Something dangerous hidden in a Snitch, weird message that we have to figure out because whoever wrote it couldn't be clear about it…"

Silence fell amongst the adults as they gazed at the innocent gold Snitch, lying on the dark polished wood of Harry's desk. Bill started to speak, but Hermione cut him off with a determined look on her face.

"Well, I think we should notify Kingsley immediately. He's the Minister, he should know about this," Hermione said decisively. "And then we should go straight to Dumbledore's portrait. There isn't any time to lose, our kids could be anywhere!"

* * *

A/N Who do you think "S.S." is ?

And if you haven't done so already, please vote on the poll on my profile.

Keep the reviews coming, people! I need something to look forward to when I get rejected from college in a couple of days. And of course, more reviews = faster updates :)


	8. Sneaky Suspicions

**Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N Hey everyone! I'm sorry it took me a long time to update. I had writer's block for a while. **

**But I would like to thank the wonderful people who left reviews, and they are: Stina58, RoseWeasley123, TheGirlWhoReadsWarriors, KaitlynEmmaRose, MrsAliceWhitlock. , Lily1992, snowvet, Kris 77, Cally Chloe, lilyFlower3, crazy-wee-cat, James Hiwatari, Spicysweetchica101, Valmarien, CSIVikkiHP, KThxBai, Wondering Hail, Anon, SilverLily1, Lady Eltanin, Bri P. , Blood of the Dawn, and victoriam549. **

**There are good guessers among you…but all of you will find out who S.S. is, soon enough…**

**But not yet. Now it's back to the kids. **

**Lily Evans' POV.**

**

* * *

**

_Peter's face was full of anger, sadness, and disbelief, but that wasn't what worried John. It was the look in Peter's eyes that promised vengeance._

oooo

Lily leaned back against her pillows, twirling a lock of dark red hair around her finger as she opened her eyes. It was early Saturday morning, and the rest of her roommates were asleep, their gentle snores filling the peaceful room. Lily smiled. She loved times like these. She was an early riser, and it was nice to just sit in the quiet silence and think about life in general. It was a pleasant break from her busy schedule during the week. She squinted at the golden shaft of sunlight that slanted across her bed from the gap in her hangings as she yawned. It was going to be sunny today, so she could sit under the beech tree and do her homework…and the boys would probably be taking advantage of the weather to do Quidditch practice. Normally she wouldn't care about a sport, but she had grown close to that group of eight kids who had arrived, and they all seemed keen on Quidditch. John and Fred had become fast friends with the Marauders since they had first arrived, and they had become even closer since their induction into the Quidditch team a week ago. Well, she supposed, anyone who had a fondness for mayhem would be friends with the Marauders. Lily herself had taken to hanging out with the girls, Roxanne, Dominique, Laura, and Rose.

They were nice, and friendly…but something was not quite right about them. She couldn't put her finger on it. They didn't know current events, and sometimes Hugo or Fred or John would start to say something, only to suddenly fall quiet when one of the girls or Al looked sharply at them. And they had private meetings in the library where they would speak in hushed voices. She knew, though they didn't know she knew. She had been walking in the back of the library one evening, looking for a book on the Venomous Tentacula, when she had heard quiet whispers. She had heard "Snape" and her name, "Lily", and "Dumbledore" and someone saying " I told you we can't bring attention to us", when she suddenly recognized the voices and realized she was eavesdropping on a private conversation. She had left in a hurry, in case they found out she was listening.

Yes, those kids were strange. They were friendly, but they all seemed to be in on some secret. She wondered briefly if they were spies, sent by that Dark wizard people were talking about, You-Know-Who, but squashed the thought. Of course they couldn't be. Dumbledore would never have let them in the school if they were.

"Lily?" Dorcas asked sleepily from her right, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"What time is it?"

"Seven." Dorcas groaned at this.

"I'm going back to sleep. Wake me for breakfast," Dorcas mumbled from behind her hangings.

"Sure," Lily said affably, as she got up and dressed. A few minutes later, she walked down to the common room, which was empty. She made straight for her favorite squashy chair in front of the fireplace, but as she got closer, saw with a shock that it was occupied. It was _never_ occupied, not this early in the morning. Everyone knew it was her favorite chair. James Potter had found this out the hard way in second year.

"Excuse me, that's my chair-" she began, poking the kid's shoulder.

Al Parker turned around, his almond shaped blue eyes wide.

"Sorry, I didn't know," he said, looking apologetic. "I didn't think anyone would be down here this early."

"Oh-, yeah, I didn't either," Lily said, feeling ashamed of herself. "It's okay, you can sit there," she added, as Al got up and offered her the chair.

"So, er, are you also an early riser?" Lily said awkwardly. She wasn't really comfortable with Al, since he was a little distant and had a guarded manner, as though wondering how much he should say or how he should act. She got along better with Fred, John and Hugo. They were more unguarded and genuine. The same was true for the girls, except for Rose and sometimes Dominique. They too, seemed cautious.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep last night," he said, his blue eyes staring out the window behind her. Lily turned to see what he was looking at, but all she saw was the clear sky. Feeling slightly annoyed, she turned back around.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said politely. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Just thinking about things, you know," he replied vaguely. Lily nodded slowly, casting around for another topic of conversation. As Al stared silently out of the window, and Lily sat uncomfortably, there was a loud pounding of feet from the boys' staircase and four boys jumped down from it, all clutching broomsticks and talking excitedly.

"We can try out that new move in _Which Broomstick-_"

"Fred, did you see your new robes-"

Lily watched them as they made their way across the common room, laughing and joking. They were halfway to the portrait hole before any of them noticed her.

"My favorite Lily Flower!" Sirius called, waving, alongside John and Fred, both of whom were grinning broadly at her.

"Lily, m'lady!" James yelled louder, trying to outdo Sirius. "I will bring you back a Quaffle or die trying!"

Lily laughed, despite herself. She knew he was joking and being a clown, as usual, but she could see something deeper in his hazel eyes…or was she imagining it? She knew he had fancied her once, but after the fiasco last year and her insults, did he still like her? She shook her head as the boys noisily left, then looked up, remembering that someone else was there. Al was watching her, a strange look on his face. The boys hadn't seen him, since his back had been to them and the chair was a high backed one, and she wondered if he felt ignored. No…he looked as though he pitied her, but there was sorrow in his face as well…

And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the look was gone, and Al's face was smooth and blank once more. Feeling annoyed once again, at boys and the way they had to be so _damned_ confusing, she stood up and went for breakfast.

ooooo

"Lily!"

Lily ignored the voice, concentrating on her Charms homework. She flipped a page in her textbook and stared at the diagram on the next page, as she tried to memorize the definition of-

"Lily! I'm talking to you, can you hear me? Are you alright?" Alice Macmillan, one of her good friends, was gazing down at her, concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Alice. Just-just a little stressed about the amount of homework we have," Lily said as casually as she could, as she darted a quick glance at the beech tree some distance away. Today she was sitting by the lake, since the beech tree had been claimed by the Marauders and John and Fred after they had finished their Quidditch practice.

Alice's blue eyes followed the direction of her glance.

"Oh, Lily, don't be silly. You know you've always been good at Charms. Something's bothering you, I can tell."

Lily sighed, and looked across the lake as she put down her homework. "I-I don't know, Alice. Those new kids-something's off about them. They act strangely, and-and-you don't think they are working for You-Know-Who?" she said suddenly, dropping her voice.

Alice looked shocked. "Well, Dumbledore wouldn't have let them in the school, I'm sure he would have known if they were," she said thoughtfully.

"That's what I thought," Lily said eagerly, leaning forward.

"Sharing secrets?"

Startled, the girls looked up to see Dominique, her long silvery-reddish hair rippling in the breeze. Behind her stood Laura and Rose.

"We weren't telling any secrets," Alice said at once, moving over on the grass so the three girls could sit down.

"Sure you weren't," Laura said, laughing. "Amanda gets the same look on her face when she tells me the gossip that's going around."

"Who's Amanda?" Lily asked curiously, as Rose threw Laura a swift warning glance.

"Oh, she's just someone I knew, you know, back home," Laura mumbled, examining a patch of grass.

"So, you never told us much about yourselves," Alice said, breaking the silence. "Where did you say you came from?"

"We lived near Surrey," Dominique said calmly. Laura nodded.

"You must miss your parents," Lily said, watching them. "After all, you've been home schooled for so long, and now you are away from your family."

"Not really," Laura said, shrugging. "Most of our cousins are here with us. And to tell the truth, it's nice to get away from Mum and Dad's constant worrying. They probably miss us more."

"Well, you never know what's going to happen," Alice said solemnly. "At Hogwarts, we're safe, but once we leave…" Her voice trailed away and she shared a dark look with Lily.

"Be careful in Hogwarts too," Lily said abruptly, looking at Dominique, Laura and Rose. "I-I've heard rumors that some students in school are-are planning to join You-Know-Who, or already have. They target people. Remember what happened to Mary last year, Alice?"

"What happened?" Dominique asked curiously.

"You don't want to know," Alice replied, shaking her head. "She still hasn't gotten over it. She was in the Hospital Wing for a week."

There was silence for a moment, except for the scratching of Lily's quill as she wrote the last lines of her essay.

"Potter and his gang are coming over," Alice announced, shading her eyes against the sun.

Lily groaned. "I don't feel like dealing with Potter now. Can we go inside?"

"But why don't you want to talk to him?" Laura asked, looking slightly worried.

"Yes, Lily, why?" Alice asked teasingly. "You know he's improved since last year. Didn't you admit that a few weeks ago?"

"Oh shut up, Alice. Or I might just tell someone named _Frank_ that-"

"You wouldn't dare!" Alice shrieked.

"I wouldn't?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows.

A few minutes later, Lily, Alice, Laura, Dominique and Rose staggered inside the front doors of the castle, panting and still giggling slightly. Lily had begun walking toward Frank Longbottom, who had been lounging with some friends on the grass not far away, and Alice had chased after her, forcing Lily to run to the castle, to avoid not only Potter but Alice's wrath. The three cousins had followed them the whole way, laughing at the scene they made.

"Blimey, I didn't realize how warm it was outside," Alice said, clutching a stitch in her side. "It's strange, isn't it? That it's this warm in the middle of October?"

"Yeah, it is," Lily agreed thoughtfully. "Well, we can go to the kitchens and get something cold to drink, maybe pumpkin juice?"

"Sounds good," Alice said, looking around. "Now we just need to know how to get the kitchens."

"You've never been to the kitchens?" Laura asked incredulously. "Really?"

"Well, we never had to go there," Lily said defensively. "Only Potter and his mates go there regularly, and I'm not about to ask _them_."

"I'll show you," Laura said brightly, wincing as Dominique trod on her foot.

"Don't-" Rose began under her breath.

"How do you know the way to the kitchens?" Lily asked, puzzled. "You've only been here for two weeks."

"John and Fred told me," Laura said confidently. "They've already been down there with the Marauders."

"Marauders? That's what they call themselves now?" Alice laughed.

"Well, show us the way, Laura," Lily urged, fanning herself.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Rose ventured. "What if we get lost?"

"Don't be silly, Rose," Laura said absently, looking at Lily. "When have I ever gotten lost?"

Rose and Dominique exchanged glances.

Laura led them down a corridor off to the side next to the Great Hall. They walked for some time, then just as they were about to turn a corner, the sound of loud raucous voices floated toward them.

"You can take that little adventure later, Rookwood. The Muggles will wait for you. They aren't going anywhere."

There were snorts of laughter as a second, silky, voice spoke.

"You don't want to displease our Master, do you Rookwood? I don't think you can afford to make another…_mistake_."

"Rose was right," Lily said suddenly. "This is bad idea. Let's go." She grabbed Alice's arm and turned around, but Alice stayed where she was, listening.

"Lily, isn't that Snape's voice?" She asked quietly. Lily nodded wordlessly.

"Slytherins," Lily murmured to Rose, Laura, and Dominique. "We don't want to meet them, let's go!"

"Why are we running from a bunch of gits?" Laura demanded, crossing her arms firmly.

Rose groaned. "Li-Laura, now is not the time.."

"Yes it is," Laura said stubbornly, jutting her chin out. "I'm not going to make way for some-"

"Laura, come on!" Alice whispered, as the voices grew closer.

"You go, " Laura replied calmly. "I'm going to the kitchens."

"We're not leaving you to be mauled by those Slytherins," Lily said decisively. "If you stay, then we all stay."

She had barely finished her sentence when a group of six students rounded the corner, all wearing the same green crest on their black robes and identical sneers.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Mudblood and her blood traitor friend," A tall boy with stringy brown hair spat. "And-look what we have here. The new kids."

Alice's hand flew to her wand, as did Lily's.

"Going to fight us?" Another boy said derisively, and the rest laughed, except Snape.

"Why would we fight you?" Laura scoffed. "You're not worth our time. Get out of the way, you git."

"Oooohh!" The first one said, pretending to cower. "I'm scared!"

There were more guffaws of laughter.

"Remember that the Mudblood Evans has prefect powers," Snape said in a low voice. "She can get us in serious trouble, and if we get detention again, we will not be able to do our task." He eyed the three cousins suspiciously as he spoke.

"Shut it, Snape. You only want us to leave them alone because you still fancy Evans, though I don't know why anyone would fancy a filthy Mudblood like her. You should have better taste, Snape. Or should I say sense of _smell_," A student with a short blonde hair sneered to shouts of laughter from the rest of the group as Snape's sallow face flushed a deep scarlet. Lily felt a sudden surge of pity for him, though they were no longer friends.

"We told you to get out of the way," Alice said steadily, her face white but determined.

"Make us," A slight boy who looked startlingly like Sirius Black said, smirking.

It had to be Sirius' brother, Lily realized. The brother he had once hinted about, but never talked of…

She came back from her thoughts in time to see a jet of red light from Laura's wand ricochet off the wall and knock over a flaming torch as a Slytherin blocked her hex. And then, at once, everyone was fighting. Dominique, her long hair flying, was dueling expertly, sending hexes in every direction and taking down one large burly Slytherin while blocking every curse that came at her. The dim corridor was brilliantly lit with red, blue, yellow, and white jets of light as hexes and jinxes flew. Laura took shelter behind a suit of armor and took down the stringy haired boy with a well aimed Bat Bogey Hex that left the boy yelling and clawing at his face as small winged objects attacked him, and then he blundered into Snape who hit the wall facefirst, cursing. Alice smiled delightedly as she cast a silent _Rictusempra_ at Sirius' brother, who doubled over wheezing. Lily flicked her wand, casing silent jinxes on the few who were left, but they blocked her and her jinxes hit several suits of armor. The resultant crashing was enough to wake the dead, she thought frantically as the noise echoed, and the remaining Slytherins raised their wands again.

Then-

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS GOING ON HERE?" someone shouted furiously.

"It was their fault, Professor!" One of the remaining students yelled, pointing at Lily, Alice, and the three cousins.

Professor McGonagall stood before them, her mouth the thinnest Lily had ever seen it, and her nostrils flaring. Lily breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss Evans, how dare you and your friends cause a disruption like this! And you are a prefect! _Explain yourselves_," she said tersely, glaring at them.

"Professor, we were going to the kitchens, but these people blocked our way, and started insulting us. We asked them to move, but they wouldn't and-and that's what happened," Lily finished somewhat lamely, with a quick glance at Laura, remembering that Laura had thrown the first hex.

"And so you girls hexed them? I expected better from Gryffindors! Yes, even you three! Though you may have just come to Hogwarts, you should know how to behave!"

"We had to," Laura said in a small voice.

"Had too? Well, Miss Parker, I'll _have to _take fifty points from Gryffindor, and detention for all of you next Saturday, my office, eight o'clock."

Lily felt her stomach sink. Gryffindor would lose the slight lead they had already, and now they had to make it up with the next Quidditch match. And it was their fault. She had never lost so much as ten points from Gryffindor before, and now she had detention, on top of it. Her parents had been so proud of her performance at Hogwarts, and now she was like Potter.

"But-"

"No buts, and that's final. As for you six," she said, turning to the Slytherins, "fifty points from Slytherin and detention Sunday evening. And get yourselves to the Hospital Wing."

At least Slytherin was similarly behind now, and those people all had gotten the detentions they deserved.

After the Slytherins had gone, McGonagall turned to the three cousins and looked at them strangely, scrutinizing their faces for several moments. "You three are to come with me. Professor Dumbledore explained your-your situation, and I have to speak with all of you about how your behavior-just come along." She motioned the three girls to follow her and swept away with a sniff of disapproval.

Alice's confused blue eyes met Lily's equally bewildered green ones.

"You saw the way Dominique was fighting?"

"I know. And McGonagall…what was that all about?"

* * *

**A/N Soooo, are Alice and Lily going to figure things out? What do you think? Tell me your thoughts, I would love to hear them! **


	9. McGonagall's Warning

**A/N I definitely don't own Harry Potter  
**

**First, I would like to thank TheGirlWhoReadsWarriors, SilverLily1, Rose the Pencil-Bird, LilyFlower3, .HP, Roza Chameleon RedBird, , Valmarien, snowvet, Dimcairien, and ginevraweasleyrocks**

**And second, well, I know I haven't updated in a while, okay, months. I've been really busy…**

**But here's the next chapter!**

**To those of you who guessed- Lily and Alice are close, but not yet!

* * *

**

_"You saw the way Dominique was fighting?"_

_"I know. And McGonagall…what was that all about?"_

ooooo

_Uh-oh. _ Rose felt her stomach sink as she, Dominique and Laura hurried along the torch lit corridors after Professor McGonagall. None of them spoke as McGonagall swept down another corridor and stopped abruptly at what must have been her office door.

"Inside," She said curtly.

Rose looked around the office curiously. In 2022, this office belonged to Professor Longbottom, one of her favorite professors and a family friend. In the future, the stone walls would be covered with colorful hangings and Gryffindor banners, pictures of smiling relatives, a case which held the famed bloodied sword of Gryffindor and a small gold Galleon, and the windowsills and floor would be overflowing with pots of daffodils, a _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ that was many years old, various types of magical fungi and plants, and even a Venomous Tentacula that sat innocently in a corner, but which Neville had threatened (although his threats were mostly empty) to set on unruly Gryffindors, including John and Fred.

But here, the office was much more businesslike, with only Gryffindor banners for decoration and a row of Quidditch trophies for Gryffindor that stood proudly on a shelf. There was a bookshelf against a wall, holding hundreds of tomes bound in leather, and another one with neatly arranged jars and boxes. The fire burned brightly in the fireplace, and a small box of Floo powder, and some empty goblets occupied the shelf above the dancing flames.

Next to her, Laura and Dominique were also looking around at the tidy, ordered desk with stacks of parchment and quills and the straight high backed chairs that would be so different from the cheerful little office they would visit so many times in the future…

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, and the three girls jumped.

"If you are finished looking around, please sit down," she said, pointing to the chairs around her desk.

McGonagall settled herself behind her desk and regarded the three girls carefully.

"Have some biscuits," McGonagall said suddenly, thrusting a tin in front of them.

Rose exchanged a glance with Dominique, barely concealing a smile. McGonagall certainly hadn't changed. They had only been to McGonagall's house a few times when they were younger, with their parents, and each time they had been offered those same biscuits.

"Now then," McGonagall began, shuffling some parchment on her desk. "The Headmaster has informed me about – about the situation. I understand that Laura and her brothers are the grandchildren of two of my students and Rose, Dominique, and the rest of the children are also the grandchildren of past students."

She paused, and looked at them again. Dominique nodded.

McGonagall's mouth twitched in a slight smile. "Well, I can certainly see some similarities. John, for instance. And I suppose that everyone is related to Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett?"

"That's Grandma's maiden name?" Laura asked, surprised.

Dominique sighed. "_Yes_, Lily. Don't you ever listen when Grandma talks about the wars?"

"You called me 'Lily'!" Laura gasped.

"It doesn't matter," McGonagall interjected, before Dominique could say anything. "I already know all your real names. But all of you have to remember your new names when you are around other students." She gave them a stern look, as though she knew how many times they had accidently nearly let slip their real names.

"Yes, Professor," Rose said. "But do you know when – when - ?"

Her eager look faded away as McGonagall shook her head.

"I'm sorry," McGonagall said, "The Headmaster is still trying to find a way to send all of you back to where you belong, and I don't know when that will be." Rose thought she saw a glimmer of pity in McGonagall's eyes, and looked at the floor glumly.

"I know that things may be very different in your times," McGonagall said, hesitatingly. "If there is a war-"

"No, Professor, there isn't," Laura said quickly.

McGonagall closed her eyes briefly and an expression of relief spread across her face. "Thank Merlin," she whispered. Laura, Rose, and Dominique exchanged glances. They had never seen McGonagall like this.

"Well, then I have to tell you how it is now," McGonagall said. Her voice was low, and anxious, not at all like her usual manner.

"Your cover story is that it was not safe in your hometown and that is why you are here. I think that cover story can describe almost every town, wizarding or not. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gaining power, and terrible- _terrible _things are happening. Muggles are dying, and it is by the hands of his followers, the Death Eaters. There have been some students whose parents have been killed for not cooperating with them-" McGonagall shuddered involuntarily.

"There are rumors that some newly recruited Death Eaters are within Hogwarts itself and that they are students-"

She broke off, and her nostrils flared.

"All of you must be very careful. Those Slytherins that you dueled with today may be part of those new Death Eaters. Anyone can be. You cannot know for sure, who is a friend and who can betray you to He-Must-Not-Be-Named. I think that your grandparents and their friends can be trusted, but I would advise all of you to lie as low as possible."

"Why would Voldemort care about us anyway?" Laura asked, crossing her arms. McGonagall flinched at the name, but recovered almost instantly.

"Because all of you are children from the future. If he can get find out who you are, and what happens in the future, then he can change the future and alter events to his advantage."

McGonagall looked deeply worried, and her hands clutched a quill so tightly that it snapped. She barely seemed to notice as she looked at the three uneasy girls.

"I want you three to promise to me that you will be very, very careful. Do you understand? These are difficult times, and there is danger everywhere. Dumbledore is working on sending you back, but until then, keep your heads down. Don't draw attention to yourselves, and if you see anything suspicious tell a professor immediately."

McGonagall pushed her chair back and held the door open for them as she offered them more biscuits.

"Remember to tell your siblings and cousins what I told you," she said as they got up.

"Thanks, Professor," Laura said, as she took another biscuit.

"You're welcome," McGonagall answered, and her eyes were suddenly kind. "And do watch what you are doing. I want to see all of you safe and healthy when I am old." It wasn't a wish so much as a command, and Rose smothered a smile as Laura gaped at McGonagall's tone.

Dominique grinned as the door shut behind them. "Same old Minnie. You better behave like she told you to, Li-Laura."

"Don't call her Minnie," Rose said absently, running her fingers along the stone wall. "Remember what she did to John the last time we visited and he called her that?"

"Denied little Jamey his favorite sweets, until he said sorry?" Dominique snickered.

"When was that?" Laura asked, confused.

Before Dominique could answer, someone shouted from behind them.

"There you are!"

Alice and Lily were rushing toward them, their faces concerned.

"We were waiting for McGonagall to finish talking to you, but it took so long," Lily said anxiously. "Did she lecture you on behavior, or something?"

"Yeah, she did," Dominique said. "I reckon we should just avoid the Slytherins."

"Good idea," Alice said, looking immensely relieved. "I never want to go near those slimy gits again."

"There was a Slytherin who looked a lot like Sirius, though," Laura said thoughtfully.

Alice and Lily exchanged dark looks.

"That was Sirius' brother, Regulus," Alice said. "Whatever you do, don't mention him in front of Sirius."

"Regulus Arcturus Black?" Laura gasped as Rose flashed her a warning look. "That was him?"

"How do you know his full name?" Lily asked, surprised.

"Oh-er-" Laura faltered, a guilty expression on her face.

"We heard Sirius say his name once," Dominique said swiftly, and glared at Laura.

"Sirius and his brother don't really get along," Lily said sadly. "It happens sometimes..." Her voice trailed away, and the girls looked uncomfortable.

"Hey, do you and your cousins want to come with us to Hogsmeade next weekend?" Alice said brightly, changing the subject.

"Isn't that the wizarding village with lots of shops?" Dominique said.

"Yeah! And it has the pub, called the Three Broomsticks, which has the best butterbeer, and then there's Zonko's-"

"-which is the Marauders' favorite place." Lily grinned. "Then there is the sweet shop Honeydukes, which you _have_ to visit, and then most haunted place in Britain, the Shrieking Shack."

"Most haunted?" Laura repeated, shivering. Rose rolled her eyes at Laura's pretended fright. Laura had been to Shrieking Shack dozens of times, of course.

"Yeah," Lily said, smiling. "No one wants to go near it."

"Everyone except the Marauders, that is," Alice said. "They aren't afraid of anything."

"Speaking of the Marauders, where are they?" Lily asked casually.

Alice looked at her suspiciously. "_James_ is flying around the Quidditch pitch. I don't know about the rest. But it's James you were asking about, right?" She winked at Lily.

"I was _not_!" Lily said hotly, blushing.

"It's okay, Lily, you can admit it," Dominique said teasingly. "We won't tell _anyone_ about your secret-"

"I have no secret! And I do _not_ fancy Jame- I mean _Potter_!" Her face still glowing pink, Lily turned a corner and strode ahead of them.

Alice laughed quietly. "She really does. It's obvious."

"Ten galleons she'll go out with James by next year," Dominique said, smirking. Rose trod on her foot, making Dominique curse fluently under her breath and glare angrily at Rose

"Done. But I think it's going to be this year. So how about Hogsmeade then? Do you want to come? We can show all of you around," Alice said eagerly, not noticing.

"Sure," Laura, said, smiling at Alice. "I'd love to see Hogsmeade."

"We'll ask our cousins," Rose said, nodding.

Alice beamed at them, and then ran ahead to catch up with Lily. Rose felt a deep aching pity, as she watched. In just a few years, those happy girls would know sorrow, and death, and…insanity. If Rose and the others told them what to avoid, how to cross the danger that would face them-

Rose sighed helplessly.

If only there was something they could do about it!

* * *

**A/N As always, I love reviews, tell me what you think!**

**Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to everyone!**

**x**


End file.
